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Bexxia

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  1. That seems to be all we can do, I just hope the sites concerned don't feel that this is a slanging match between two parties and side with the wrong one. As yet, no action has been taken against my friend on eBay or Facebook, so I'm hoping they have decided to disregard any reports already made to them. Preloved have been in touch with me, but require more information, I am waiting to hear back from them, hopefully with a positive outcome.
  2. She keeps changing her story it seems. Usually it's the use of the specific fabrics, but on a couple of occasions she has said it's her "unique" method of keeping the sack entrance rigid that has been copied. She uses thick wadding between the fleece layers to do this, other makers tend to use a piece of plastic or wire. My friend has adjusted her design slightly already, she now fills the entire lining with wadding rather than just the opening. This has made no difference to the other seller's claims of copyright infringement however. I certainly agree that the other seller appears to not like the competition, but instead of dealing with the matter in a professional manner, she is using threatening behaviour and reporting my friend's listings. I will seek further advice on Monday, hopefully we can get through to the local CAB. I am awaiting a response from Preloved regarding the ad that was removed yesterday. It's very worrying that someone can falsely make claims like this (to the point of having business listings/ads removed) with no comeback.
  3. There's no dispute over naming, the are both quite different in that regard. The issue is that they are both making these sacks with the same fabric. I don't think even a patent would protect that, because surely the nasty seller would have to have exclusive rights to use that fabric? In which case, it wouldn't be on general sale in Dunelm Mill, unless it came with a disclaimer label saying it could be used for any purpose except making cosy sacks for small animals lol. Darn, you beat me to it!
  4. Thank you, I need to convince her to find some legal help then. A letter from a solicitor would put this issue to rest, I'm sure. Do you know if she may be entitled to any legal help with something like this? I've not seen the heated sacks that is indeed a clever idea! But in this instance, she is just making plain old normal ones like everyone else, two bits of fleece with a bit of wadding sandwiched in the middle. I believe she has now written to preloved asking for her ad to be reinstated, but she probably won't get a response until Monday now.
  5. That's what I thought, but this seller seems convinced it's a copyright issue. She doesn't hold any patents to my knowledge, she makes her products on the side as a hobby that brings in a little extra income, just like my friend. She is claiming that the sack, when made with specific fabrics, is copyrighted to her. Those fabrics are found in many home textiles shops and do not belong to her in any way.
  6. Hi everyone, hoping someone can give a little advice. A friend of mine has just started a small hobby business selling hand-made cosy sacks for small pets. Lots of people make them and there are various online tutorials showing how to sew them etc. She sells them mostly via her facebook page, but also on eBay and Preloved. Over the last couple of days, she has been receiving angry messages on facebook and ebay from another seller who makes them demanding she remove hers from sale immediately. This seller claims her sacks are copyrighted and that my friend is infringing on her intellectual rights by making and selling them. Obviously this is silly as my friend's designs are not exactly identical and as I said before, many people make them for sale. The reason this nasty seller seems to be picking on my friend is because they have both used the same fabrics for some of their products. It turns out that they both live in the same area and are likely using the same store to buy their materials. A complete coincidence. Yesterday, the angry seller registered the copyright with some online company that gives you a fancy certificate and registration number. I know this means very little, as it's no proof that the work is hers, but she has now faxed a copy to eBay with the intent of getting my friend's listings pulled. She has also allegedly reported my friend's page to faceboook. Just now, my friend received an email from Preloved saying her advert had been removed due to this person's report. My friend is very upset and doesn't know how to defend herself from these attacks or protect her ads and listings on various sites. Does she have any grounds to get a solicitor involved? And is there any where she can get some free legal advice? She has been trying to call her local CAB all day, but the phone is constantly engaged. Thank you for any advice.
  7. Hi everyone, My partner has been on JSA (contribution-based) for about 5 months and we also get full-rate housing and council tax benefit. I don't work due to poor health and look after our toddler, so we also have child benefits/tax coming in. My partner is an artist and has been using his time since becoming unemployed to create an online portfolio of work that he has built-up for free over the last ten years and promote himself as freelance. He has now been offered a one-off commission worth between £3k-£5k which will take around two weeks to complete. Obviously he's very excited at getting some serious work, but how will this affect benefits? Although he is getting a very good fee for his work, there's no guarantee of further work and he might well have nothing more for six months. I understand that they will deduct whatever he earns from his JSA - as this is such a large sum, does that mean he won't get any JSA for several months? Is there any point to signing on if he's going to receive nothing for a reasonable length of time? And how would the housing and council tax benefits be affected? Many thanks.
  8. So although it's not the polite thing to do, they aren't breaking any rules by adding those documents? I have no idea as to the content of these additional documents, my partner will be putting in a request for copies as soon as he's spoken to his CAB advisor in the morning. I also have no idea why the solicitor didn't disclose them earlier and has buried them in the index without mention. The hearing date is currently set for 25th of May, but his ex-employer has asked for it to be postponed as one of their key witnesses has other commitments. The witness statements have not been exchanged yet. This is set for 11th of May however the ex-employer has asked for this to be postponed as well for no clear reason.
  9. A few days ago, my partner received a copy of the index for the bundle of documents to be used at his tribunal hearing from his ex-employer's solicitor. On inspection, we see that they have added documents (mostly internal emails between management) that were not disclosed to my partner during the formal Disclosure of Documents last month. Can they add in new material like this without my partner's permission? I understood that the whole point of the Disclosure of Documents was for both parties to make clear which material was in their possession that that may be using as part of their case. My partner's ACAS conciliator and his CAB advisor are both out of the office until tomorrow so we're not sure what to write to the respondent's solicitor. According to tribunal rules, both sides must agree on the bundle within the next couple of days. I don't want the fact that my partner hasn't said anything yet to mean he has accepted the bundle. Any advice would be gratefully received, thank you.
  10. The solicitor representing my partner's ex-employer has also requested a postponement (due to witness being unavailable) and an extension to two days. Not terribly happy with either as we want this over with as soon as possible and without being drawn out, but we'll see if the Tribunal grants the requests..... I doubt anything will change with regards to any negotiations you've got going on, you'll just have more time to do them.
  11. Thanks noname, that's very useful to know. My partner spoke to ACAS yesterday and they weren't too concerned about the letter. They offered to send a reply with our own settlement offer, I think we will do this as they'll know how to word it best. Based on what you've said, I think we'll ask for a little higher than £10k so that we can come down to that figure later (hopefully). He also phoned CAB but his advisor is on holiday until next week and they have no one experienced in tribunal matters in until Wednesday. Andy, good luck with your recent offer, hope they accept!
  12. Andy, when my partner first put in the ET claim we expected he might receive 1-2k if he won. What he really wanted was to be re-instated, though this is very unlikely now as his office is closing in a few months time. So basically, whatever we get is a bonus and we'd be happy to settle for a lot less than the Schedule of Loss figure, even 10k would be amazing!
  13. transient - No worries. I like the wording of your response, it's rather less inflammatory than what I would love to say lol. andydd - Personally we were thinking of asking £10k though we'll be sure to take advice before deciding for sure. I understand that ACAS will try to negotiate on our behalf, but there's been no sign that the ex-employer is interested in going down that route. Well done with your settlement, to be honest it's the principle rather than the money that is important to us .
  14. transient - their offer was nothing, so anything we can counter-offer can only be good! I'm not sure whether we should send a fixed counter-offer or simply inform them that we are happy to discuss a genuine settlement, my partner will discuss this with CAB and will probably give ACAS a bell too as they're no doubt familiar with this type of letter. andydd - The figure we have stated in the Schedule of Loss is just shy of 20k. We were rather surprised at this initially, but that's how it works out based on my partner being a long-time, reasonably well paid employee and taking into account the earnings he has lost. With his ex-employer's alleged legal fees of more than 10k, it would cost them a fair bit if they lose. I agree that making a fair settlement offer of our own should look favourable on us in court. I will look into the Part 36 offer, thank you.
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